Machine for wrapping fruits, etc.



"July 23, 1935. H. L. ROBERTS MACHNE FOR WRAPPING FRUITS, ETC

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 2*?, 1932 INVENTOR- /CE L. FBRTS.

HIS TORNEYS H. L, RoBERTs' MACHINE FOR WRAPPI'NC-r FRUITS, ETC

July 23,1935.

' 4 sheets-sheet 2 Filed July A2'7, 1932 INVENTOR- HOACE L. ROBE/W15. Wop //S ATTO Taf-- N EYS July 23, 19357. H, ROBERTS 2,009,241

MACHINE FOR WRAPPING'FRUITS, ETC

Filed July 27, 1932 4sheetssheet 3 IT z f/z j 72 /f/ f3 49 50 l f//S' ToRN Ys Pafented July 23, 1935 UNITEDS STATES PATENT OFFICE Horace L. Roberts, Moimt Vernon, N. Y. Application July 27, 1932,' serial 10.624,935

5 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for rapidly and efllciently wrapping paper or other similar material about fruit of approximately spherical form, such as oranges, and for wrapping other 5 articles for which the machine may be adapted.

The object of my invention is theproduction of a vmachine which will rapidly and eiciently wrap fruit and similar' articles with paper, so that the same may be protected and preserved therel o1; container immediately .after wrapping or other*- w se.

Briefly stated, my invention comprises amachine which is provided with a. suitable` hopper for holding and supplying ,theA .articles to be Wrapped consecutively tothe means for wrapping the same. Associated with 'the hopper is a-table or other suitable support having a rotary receiver which is operated as to grasp and rotate the.

20 article, so that the wrapper may betwisted into al spiral forni atV its margin 4above the article. A.This 1s accomplished by feeding a series of sheets of paper or other suitable material from anaccumulated stack or roll thereof, and then introducing said sheets to the wrapping portion of the machine, so that the fruit or other articles when delivered from the hopper will engage thesheets and both will b e carried into the rotary portion ofthe device. Thereafter,"certain sec- U torialpiecescomplete the enclosing of the article vby theV wrapper, and certain oscillating fingers or. arms engage the upper portion of the wrapper to prevent its turning while the wrapped fruit is being rotated to form aI twist in the wrapper above the fruitto hold the wrapper in position.

' apart' thereof. Y

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional viewthrough the central portion of my machine as assembled and indicating the operative relation of the parts; Fig. 2 -is a plan view thereofwith the hopper or feeding portion removed; Y

Fig. 3 is a side-,elevation thereof showing the relation of the operating parts, including cams for moving said parts; l 50 Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially upon the line 4 4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially o n the line ,5-5 of Fig. 1.;

Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the receiving and by, and may be easily packed inA a suitable box Y For a' detailed description of one form of` Invention, Which I at present deem preferablY reference may be had Ato the*following*speamphi;

tion and to 'the-accompanying drawings forming-fruit successively over lthe hole I2 in the bottom wrapping'portion of the apparatus having the.

wrapping sectors and the paper clamping arms in position;

Fig. 7 is a view similar toFig. 6, but showing the closing segments and the holding arms in their closed positions;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to that of Fig. 1, but showing the article `to be wrapped Ain its initial position just before being forced into the wrapping tube; y

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view similarv to.l?.ig. 8, but showing the article in the position when the margins thereof are twisted to close the wrapper about the article; and f Fig. 10 is a plan view of the trough for receivingv `and distributing thearticles after the wrapping operation. A Y

Referring to .the drawings-,the numeral vI indi--v cates a plurality of supports or standards which carry a horizontal table 2 upon which the main parts of the machine are mounted.

-The numeral 3 indicates alhopper in which the fruitis placedin order to feed the same to the wrapping machine. The numeral 4 indicates a roll -or supply ofpaper, portions of which 4are fed to the wrapping 'mechanism to' b e Wrapped about the fruit. Thel numeral 5 is a main driving pulley and cam which is rotated in any suitable ldevice, such as that of an electric motor (not shown). A pivoted or loose pulley 9 is provided l to determine the requisite tension on the belty 6 of the driving mechanism.

Attached to the left hand frame o1" support of the'rnachine is a vertical shaft Iwhich passes throughthe table and enters the hopper 34 where` it, engages a' rotatable plate II which is provided with suitable holes or other devices to move the plementary worm gear on the horizontal shaft I 4,

which shaft is rotated in any suitable way, as

by the sprocket chain I5, engaging the sprocket vwheel I6. Tne sprocket chain I5 also engages a second sprocket wheel I'I on the main shaft I8 of the machine, which also carries the main driving wheel 5. Thus the distributor or selector I I in the hopper 3 'is continuously rotated to successively present the fruit for wrapping at the desired intervals'.

on the tame or parte 2 of the machine istne angle iron or'bracket 20, the upper end of which" supports the hopper 3, and is also provided withA a .tube or sleeve 2i Within which a rod 22 is adaptratus.

ed to reciprocate. Rod 22 has attached to its outer end a horseshoe-shaped guide 23 serving to guidev or move the fruit into the correct position for insertion in the wrapping apparatus. The rod 2li is caused to reciprocate back and forth, so that the fruit, indicated by the dotted circle 24, is forced over the cylinder constituting the device for rotating the fruit, by means of 'a lever 25 which is connected to the horseshoe-shaped guide 23 at its outer end, and the inner end of which is fixed on the end of a vertical stud which pivots a lever as at 26, Fig. 2. The lever 25 has pivoted thereto a link 2l connected with a vertical oscillating lever 23 which is pivoted on the .longitudinal bar 29 of the lower portion of the machine. The lever 2B is provided with a cam follower 3@ which runs in a suitable cam groove 3l in the driving wheel 5. It will thus be seen that as the driving wheel 5 rotates, the cam follower will be moved to oscillate about the pivot of the lever 28, and will therefore reciprocate the guide 23, so that the fruit is pushed toward the right (Fig. l) over the wrapping portion of the appa- In order that the fruit when placed in the latter position may be positively forced into the rotating cylinder, a plunger 32 is provided which has a vertically reciprocating movement by reason of its being carried on the vertical rod which isv-` located in its correct position by a suitable bracket 33' fastened to the hopper 3. The vertical reciprocation of the rod 33 is produced by the action of the cam groove 3B and cam follower Si on the outer side of the driving wheel 5. A vertical rod 3i having at its upper end an arm 35 connected with a lever 35', said lever being pivotally mounted in a bracket 38, its outer end being connected to a bearing collar 3d through which the rod 33 passes. The plunger 32 may be made o f any suitable material, but preferably of'soft material, such as rubber, so that the fruit may not be injured by contact therewith. A second fixed guide device 39 of substantially U-shaped form is also supported by the bracket 2D, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2,

Attached to the under side of the table 2 is a bracket t!) which is provided with a tubular portion il on which iS rotatably supported a cylindrical or tubular receiver ft2. This member is provided at its upper end with a miter gear portion 13 and is preferably provided with a fixed collar lll to hold the same in position. The miter gear d3 is driven in any suitable way, such as by meshing with the miter gear d3', which is driven from the main shaft, as indicated in Fig. l. The cylindrical member 42 is provided with a plurality of spring fingers 45 which are attached in any suitable way to the lower margin of said cylindrical-member 44, as"- indicated in Figs. 1 and 9. The main portion of these fingers or springs is made of spring steel and carry at their upper ends brass contacting strips 46, the upper ends of which are bent or curved outwardly, as

indicated at 41 (Figs. l, 8 and 9). On the upper surface of the plate of table 2 are located a plurality of sectorial members 48, more clearly illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. As indicated, these sectorial pieces are preferably four in number, and are supported by radialv arms or lugs 49 which slide in shallow grooves 50 in the top of the table 2. They are held in such position by reason of the machine screws 5I which pass through slots 52 in said arms 50. The sectorial pieces 48 are so positioned relative to each other that when they are moved inward one pair slides over and in contactwith the lower pair, as indicated in Fig.

the article being wrapped outside of the wrapper thereon (Fig. 9) with a certain amount of spring pressure. i

This pressure is produced as follows: lReferring to Fig. 6, it will be seen that there is a ring or annulus 53 which is adapted to oscillate above the sectorial pieces 48. position by the grooved rollers 5ft. It is also pro- This is held in correct vided with a plurality of inclined slots 55 which engage pins 5G in the lugs il@ of the sectorial pieces. The ring or annulus 53 is also provided with an anchoring screw or pin 5l which receives one end of the helical spring 58. The other end of said spring is connected with a .pivoted yoke 59 which engages the upper end of a vertical lever 50, which is fixed on the horizontal shaft 5l (see Figs. l and 5); The shaft 5l is oscillated by means of a lever 62 attached to the left hand end thereof (Figj) and this lever at its lower end is provided with a cam follower 63, which engages the cam groove (ifi in the driving wheel 5 (Fig. l).

It will now be seen that as the shaft l oscillates, the lever 5G will oscillate and will periodically increase the tension on the spring 58. This will cause the ring or annulus 53 to rotate, and since the pins 55 will then travel radially toward the center of the ring, the sectorial pieces Q8 will be caused to move inward against the tension of the spring fingers l5 the upper ends of said fingers will thereby be brought closer together and the orange or other article within the cylinder will be firmly gripped thereby, as indicated in Fig. 9.

This action of` the spring fingers 46 is of great importance in the results accomplished by-this machine. 1t will be appreciated by one having knowledge of the action of machines of this character that when the paper is twisted to complete the wrapping above the fruit there is an upward Dull or tension on the wrapper tending to lift the fruit out of the holding means. In this device the inward flexing or convergence of the spring fingers 56 during the wrapping or twisting operation eifectually prevents any upward motion of the fruit which would tend to reduce the gripping action or frictional contacts. thermore, when the spring fingers move radially outward after the wrapping operation is completed the fruit is permitted to' fall into the receiver without any further action of any parts of the machine to eject it.

Simultaneously with the movement of the sectorial pieces the ends of paper above the orange will be gripped and engaged by the, curved arms or fingers 65. ment of tha lever 62, above referred to. The shaft 6I (Fig. 5) is provided with a lever 66, the upper end of which carries a connecting link S1,

.which is pivoted to a downwardly projecting pin or lug 68. This lug projects from a plate 69 which is adapted to reciprocate toward the right and left, as indicated in Figs. 6, 8 and 9. The plate 69 carries two cross-bars 10 and il, the latter of which has its ends pivotally connected with longitudinally extending links 12, 12. The opposite ends of said links pivotally engage the inner enlarged ends 13 of the' arms or fingers 65, as indicated at 14. Said enlarged ends of the arms 65 are pivoted on fixed projections, as at 15, so that the said arms may swing from the position indicated in Fig. 6 to the position indicated in Fig. 7. The bar 10 carries contact wheels 10. f

It will now be seen that when the cross-bar 1| is moved toward the right (Fig. 6) Athe links 12 will draw pivots 14 toward thel right, and consequently turn the arms 65 about their pivots 15, so that the arms will be in the position indicated in Fig. 7. In this position the paper projecting from the fruit which has been forced below the level of the table will be engaged and so gripped as to prevent the drawing of the-paper above said arms, and the continued turning of the fruit as rotated by the cylinder and the ends 41 of the lingers 45 will twist the paper so as to form a complete enclosure for the fruit in the paper below.

y Now, referring to the means for feeding the paper to the wrappingedevice, it -will be seen by reference to Fig. 1 that the roll 4 is supported in a suitable pair of standards 16 having slots which allow the shaft of the roll to travel downward as vthe roll decreases in size. are two belts 11 of suitable flexible material,

Beneath theV roll 4 such as leather, rubber or cloth, and these are adapd to travel in grooves over the pulleys 18,` 19, 80, 8| and 8|'. The latter are located substantially directly below the roll 4 so that the weight of the roll on the belt 11 will be takenup by the pulleys 8| -and given the necessary frictional contact between the roll and said belts. The pulley 18 is mounted on the transverse shaft 82, which is driven by a sprocket chain 83 car- .ried on the main drivingshaft I8. One end of the shaft 82 carries a cam wheel 84 having a groove 85 which is adapted to contain a follower 86 on the lever 81, to be referred to hereinafter. The shaft 82 also carries a second sprocket wheel 80 which engages a sprocket chain 89.' This sprocket chain extends upwardly toward the right (Fig. 3) and engages a fixed but rotatable sprocket wheel 90. The chain also engages a second sprocket wheel `9| on the end of transverse shaft 92 (Figs. 2 and 3) The shaft 92 is also provided with twqdisc wheels 93, the peripheries of which are provided with suitable anti-friction. material, such as leather or rubber. These'wheels are adapted to contact with the paper above the Wheels 10' when the'latter vare in their forward positions.

A horiziontal plate 95 is fastened to the table at the point 95 as indicated in Figs. 8.and 9. 'Ihe right hand edge of the plate 94 rests upon the second plate- 96, which is provided with a central opening 91, the edge of the plate being drawn downwardso as to form a rounded margin. The plate is held in position in any suitable Way so that it is located above the arms 65 and Y the sectorial pieces 48. The plateV 96 also has located slightly above it a second plate 98, which4 is provided with forwardly extending guide arms 99, as indicated in Fig.A 2. These arms preventv the orange or other fruit from rolling sidewise and allows it to be placed directly abovejthe openling in the table. It will now be seen that, as

the pulleys 18, 19, 80, 8| and 8| are rotated, the roll of paper 4 will also be lrotated andv the end thereof which falls away fromthe roll will be carried toward the left' (Figs. 1, 8,-and 9) until the end has come to lie over the opening 91 in the plate 96.`,l-Io`wever, during the passage of thepaper in this direction, the cutting mechanism for severing the strip of paper into sheets will come into operation. This may be described as follows: I. y

The lever 81 is pivoted at its upper end to a connecting rod |00, and the opposite end of said connecting rod is pivoted to the vertical lever The lower end of said lever is fixed to a horizontal shaft |'02. This shaft also is pro- Ivided with two levers |03 which are connected respectively to links or vconnecting bars |04 adjacent the'opposite ends thereof. Th'esebars are pivoted to a projection on a slidable frame |06. 'I'he endsv of this frame also carry a transverse strip |01 which forms. the lower member of the cutting or severing device for -the paper, The upper member ofl thev severing device comprises a pair of vertical standards |08 which arethe transverse cutting bar or knife |09, which is slidably mounted thereon'. The holder of the knife blade proper is provided on its upper edge with two slight projections ||0, which are so placed as to depress the blade at the proper point, said blade being held in the upper limit of its position by suitable springs |08', as indicated in Figs. 8 and 9. The numeral indicates a pair of bars or brackets fixed to the top of the machine table, and this carries a pair of inwardly extending arms H2, from "which project pivot pawls ||3 having cam surfaces, as indicated in Figs. 8 and 9. These pawls are located in the path of the projections ||0 so that when the same contact with said projections the knife blade will be depressed. This will come at a point which is accurately above the edge of the lower transverse knife member |01. When said cutting member lhas been depressed,\the paper will be 'perforated and then separated by the action o f ber of the cutting device will be immediately r' leased and said member will spring upward' into its normal position, as indicated in Fig. 8. Upon the reverse, 'movement of the cutting device caused by the continued movement of the cam 84, the pawls ||3 will be allowed to swing toward the right, and the cutting knife will not be further depressed until the next movement toward the left for severing thesuccessive sheets. -It will be seen that after the sheet has been cut it will be advanced by the motion of the belts`d 11, andin order to aid the same after the cutting has taken place; small weighted wheels i|4 are provided, the transverse shaft I5, which carries the same, being supported at its ends in suitable slots in the bracket as indicated'in Figs. and 2. After being advanced by the belts, the paper, upon reaching the wheels 93, will come above the friction wheels 1,0` (Figs5 and 6) and when said wheels are in their forward position,`

the wheels ,-393 will further advance the paper above the plate 96 at a somewhat higher rate of travel `until it is in position above the opening 91. so positioning the paper is .coincident with the placing of the parts in proper position to begin theA wrapping of the next succeeding orange,

other fruit in' article. ,The operation of the device in successive steps may be described as'follows: y

1ssuming that thel wrapping paper has been placed above the opening 91, last above described, an orange or other fruit which is dropped through the hole i2 in the bottom of the hopper t, will strike on the plate S8, from which position (Fig. 1,) it will be projected toward the right by the-horizontal action of the rod 22 and the member 23. It will then be placed above the paper, as indicated in Fig. 8. The plunger 32 then descends the necessary amount to push the fruit into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8. The plunger is then withdrawn, and the sectorial pieces lil immediately contract the paper above the fruit and force the spring iingers di inward. rIhis serves to cause the latter to engage the 'fruit so as to prevent any tendency to move upward and since said cylinder is continuously rotating, the fruit with its wrapper 'will be revolved on a vertical axis, and as the curved arms or fingers t5 have also been brought into the positionshown in Fig. 7, the paper above the fruit will be held firmly, so that a twist is made in the `margin of the paper, thereby wrapping the paper tightly about the fruit without upward' movement thereof. Immediately thereater the spring fingers and the sectorial pieces are Withdrawn by the action of the operating cam, andv since the spring `llr1gers, are thus released to return to their normal positions, the fruit is allowed to drop ireely into a suitable trough, tray or other container below the cylinder ft2. Im'- mediately thereafter the next sheet of paper has been steadily advancing and so is placed in position above the opening iii-l, and the parts are in position to repeat the wrapping of the next article. From actual tests of my machine this can be accomplished at the rate ofv Si@ to @il per minute. K

As a furtherl improvement in connection with this machine, I have devised a receiver whicn enables the fruit to be packed more quickly and eic'iently in boxes or cartons as they are released from thelmachine. This apparatus consists of a troughnor chute HE (Figs. 1 and 1G), This is supported upon a transverse strip lil orsteel or other rigid material, which strip is attached to a lblock iii?, said block being pivoted on bracket H9. Block lid has a rearwardly extending projection i2@ provided with a slot allowing adjustment of a pivot 825 on the end of and connecting rod 622 (Fig. The opposite endjof said connecting rod 522 is pivoted to a crank arm 23 on the lower end of the vertical shaft It.

From this description, it will be seen that when the crank arm E23 rotates with the shaft IB, the projection Hill will be oscillated so that the chute l id will also be oscillated and its outer end, which projects slightly beyond the frame ofthe machine, will distribute the wrapped iruit or similar articles at different points in the box or other receptacle in which it is packed. The trough or chute HB is preferably covered with a suitablelayer of soft material 24, which may be canvas, telt or other fibrous material held in position by suitable clips |25 or otherwise.

Having thus described this embodiment of my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters, Patent is:

1. In a machine ,for wrapping substantially spherical articles with thin, flexible material, a

continuously rotating receiver, resilient contact devices lnxed adjacent the lower margin thereof for frictionally engaging said material and said articles, means for feeding sheets of said material to a position above said receiver, devices for gathering said material about the upper part of said articles and for forcing radially inward the upper ends of said contact devices, and gripping fingers for engaging and effecting a twist in said material above said receiver, beginning at the surface of saidarticles.

2. In a machine for wrapping articles with thin, ilexible material, a rotatable receiver for rotating the article to be wrapped, means for supplying sheets oi said material adjacent the upper end thereof, radially movable resilient contacting strips fixed in the lower end of said receiver for holding said articles in position therein, a plurality of radially movable pieces for forcing the upper ends of said contacting strips inward and gathering the wrapper about said article, and a plurality of pivoted fingers adapted to engage and grip said wrapping material above said pieces, whereby a twist is produced therein.

3. In a machine for wrapping articles with thin, exjole material, a rotatable receiver for rotating the articles to be wrapped,.resilient strips fixed to the lower portion thereof and extending up- Ward'to points` adjacent the upper end thereof, means for successively feeding said articles to a .position abovegsaid receiver, devices for supplying said material at a position above said receiver, a device for forcing said articles and said material into said receiver between said strips, sec-A torial pieces for gathering said sheets about said article and acting to move the ends of said strips inward, and radially movable fingers for holding the ends of said material stationary to produce a twist therein.A

4. In a machine for wrapping articles with paper and the like, and having ,paper feeding apparatus, the improvement which comprises a substantially cylindrical rotatable receiver for said articles and paper, resilient strips xed adjacent the lower end of said receiver, means for moving inward and releasing the upper free ends of said strips, 4and `means for intermittently and frictionally engaging said paper to hold the same stationary and effect a twist therein.

5. In a machine for wrapping articles with paper and the like and having paper feeding apparatus, means for forcing the articles and the paper to be wrapped downward, a rotatable receiver for said articles and paper, resilient strips fixed to the lower portion of said receiver,

vmeans for moving the upper free ends of said Ystrips radially inward to frictionally engage said articles and said paper and to gather the latter about the upper portion of said artlcles and to retract said strips to release said articles when wrapped, a plurality of curved ngers pivoted above said receiver, and devices for moving said fingers inward to engage the wrapping paper to hold the same stationary and effect a twist therein.

HORACE L. ROBERTS. 

